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Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) made a promise Tuesday to small, women and minority-owned businesses: the state’s got your back.
The governor gave a keynote speech at Bowie State University during a Black business expo hosted by the Maryland Minority Business Counts initiative, which consists of business, community and civic leaders who advocate for diverse small companies to receive state contracts.
The state has historically struggled to reach a goal of signing 29% of state contracts with “minority business enterprises,” defined generally as businesses that have majority owners that are women, disabled people or who are Black, Latino, Asian or Native American. Currently, minority business contracts remain below 15%.
“Every year for the last 10 years, we’ve broken that promise and there have been no consequences,” Moore said to the more than 100 people in attendance. “It’s like telling my kids their bedtime is at 8:30 [and] at 11 o’clock they’re still up. We need to start making real targets, real targets.”
To ensure business owners make better connections with state agencies, Moore announced he will appoint a minority business enterprise ombudsman in the next several months. A main responsibility, he said, “will be to advocate for our small and minority businesses as they navigate through the procurement process giving you all the white glove experience that so many other businesses have had.”
